24K Included On Blacklist Of Former President Park Geun Hye's Government

It has been revealed that 24K was included on a blacklist by the government of former president Park Geun Hye.

The government of the now-impeached president had compiled a blacklist with the names of over 9,400 artists and celebrities. Its existence was first reported in October of 2016 prior to her impeachment, and the full list was revealed last month. The blacklist was created to outline which artists would be excluded from receiving support from the state.

A representative of the blacklist fact-finding commission stated that the blacklist includes those who had signed a petition calling for the rejection of a government decree about the Sewol accident, writers who spoke out about the accident, and even artists who had simply expressed support for opposing presidential candidates Moon Jae In and Park Won Soon.

It has now been reported by the Kyunghyang Shinmun that 24K was the only idol group to be included in the list.

In regards to why the group had been included on the list, a source from 24K’s agency stated, “It is only a guess, but we wonder if it isn’t because they helped with Moon Jae In’s group in 2012 around the time of their debut, when he was a candidate in the presidential election.” The blacklist includes their manager at the time of their debut and five members: Cory, Kisu, Seokjune, Byungho, and Daeil, excluding Sungho.

24K had assisted Moon Jae In by taking part in singing the theme song for his campaign, which was composed by Kim Hyung Suk. They also participated in a performance and appeared in a video for the song. It appears that their participation in the campaign was the reason that five out of the six members of the group at the time and their manager were included on the list.

A source from their agency said, “It’s true that they were almost unable to appear on certain network shows, maybe because of the blacklist.” The group has therefore been focusing on building up a fanbase outside of Korea by promoting overseas with concert tours in Europe, the United States, South America, and more.

24K is currently preparing to make a comeback in late May with a new album. Their lineup for this comeback includes members Cory, Kisu, Jeonguk, Jinhong, Changsun, and Hongseob.

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